The second edition of the FASTER Awards, concluded on Wednesday, the 3rd of May, 2023, with a glittering awards ceremony at the Orana Conventions in Gurugram hosted by TV Host and Emcee Ravin Kundu.
The glitzy felicitation ceremony saw the TVS Ronin crowned as the Bike of the Year, while the Hyundai Tucson took home the prize for the Car of the Year.
The gala award ceremony in Gurugram for the Acer FASTER Awards 2023 saw multiple awards being presented to the best of the best two and four-wheeler manufacturers, PR agencies, Corporate Communications Teams and Automotive Personalities from calendar year 2022.
Here are the winners of the Acer FASTER Awards 2023:
- Car of the Year: Hyundai Tucson
- Bike of the Year: TVS Ronin
- Premium Car of the Year: Mercedes-Benz EQS
- EV of the Year: Kia EV6
- Auto Tech of the Year: Strong Hybrid on the Honda City e:HEV
- Industry Personality of the Year: Rajesh Jejurikar, Executive Director & CEO (Auto & Farm Sector) at Mahindra Group
- Motorsport Personality of the Year: Jehan Daruvala (F2 Driver & Reserve Driver – Mahindra Racing Formula E Team)
- CSR Initiatives of the Year: Hyundai Motor India Limited
- Corporate Communications Team of the Year: Maruti Suzuki India Limited
- PR Team of the Year: First Partners
- Auto Ad Campaign of the Year: Tata Kaziranga Edition
A jury of highly experienced automotive journalists from electronic media publications with a reach of over 250 million monthly users across the globe adjudged the winners of the coveted Acer FASTER Awards. The Jury round for the Acer FASTER Awards 2023 took place in Kharghar, Navi Mumbai on the 12th and 13th of April, 2023.
The jury for the Acer FASTER Awards 2023 comprised of:
- Amit Chhangani – Editor, Motoroids
- Ayush Jain – Editor, IndianTorque
- Gaurav Yadav – Editor, GaadiWaadi
- Jobo Kuruvilla – Editor, DriveSpark
- Narendra Sharma – Editor, GearFliQ
- Rohit Khurana – Editor, CarblogIndia
- Roshan Joseph – Editor, Pilot on Wheels
The final jury member, Baiju M. Nair, the Editor of Smart Drive was unable to participate owing to unforeseeable circumstances.
Speaking at the Acer FASTER Awards 2023, Amit Chhangani, the Editor of Motoroids and the Chairman of FASTER said, “At FASTER, we believe that it’s important to bring together people from the online automotive media who believe in authentic, well-researched content to differentiate them from the sensationalists and misinformation mongers. With time, we wish to bring more and more quality online automotive publications in our fold and will keep working towards doing our bit in offering our audience vetted, reliable information they can trust. Together, we believe we can make the internet a safe, productive and better place.”
Narendra Sharma, Editor, GearFliQ and Secretary at FASTER said, “The Acer FASTER Awards 2023 winners showcase the outstanding achievements by manufacturers, communication teams, PR firms and automotive personalities and shine a light on the best of the best in the Indian automotive industry, which has once again risen to new heights in the last 12 months. The Acer FASTER Awards 2023 has received an overwhelming response from the entire automotive industry. We wish to make this platform grander in the coming years while continuing to be the most authentic and unbiased auto awards in the country.”
Adding his thoughts, Jobo Kuruvilla, Editor, DriveSpark and Faster Jury member said, “We are thrilled to announce the winners of the Acer FASTER Awards 2023, a true celebration of excellence in the Indian automotive industry. Our rigorous testing and extensive data collection process ensured that only the best vehicles made it to the top. We are proud to count on the most credible and influential names in the online auto media space as our esteemed jury members. The Acer FASTER Awards 2023 are a celebration of the hard work and dedication of the Indian automobile sector and we are excited to see the innovation and excellence continue in the years to come as the industry continues to evolve and grow.”
Acer FASTER Awards Sponsors & Partners
The Title sponsor for the FASTER Awards 2023 was Acer, one of the world’s leading laptop and PC manufacturers. GoPro, the global leader in action cameras, and WD40, the gold standard in displacing moisture, preventing rust, and loosening stuck parts joined on as associate sponsors of the Acer FASTER Awards 2023.
Zen Microsystems, one of the nation’s leading experts in automotive data testing, joined the Acer FASTER Awards 2023 as the data & testing partner and the jury round was monitored by Markets & Markets as an independent validation agency.
About FASTER
FASTER (Federation of Auto Scribes of the Electronic Realm) is the definitive Indian body representing the most credible and influential names in the online auto media space comprising publications namely CarBlogIndia, DriveSpark, GaadiWaadi, GaadiWale, GearFliQ, Motoroids, Indian Torque, Pilot on Wheels and Baiju Nair. Taken together, the constituent publications of FASTER publish auto content in six different languages including English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam. The total collective monthly reach of the constituent publications exceeds a whopping 250 million users, which makes FASTER one of the most influential consortiums of its kind within the auto media ecosystem. With a goal to separate the authentic, time-proven auto media outlets from the misinformation mongers and sensationalists FASTER has brought together auto media entities which place objective, unbiased reportage as a matter of paramount importance.